Reviewer: Hopes MomDate: 03/06/11 13:25 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

I am with James here - what the heck? Could their day get any starnger? After a rotten time in Hogsmeade and a less than smooth trip back to the castle, a strange room appears? You have certainly kept me guessing in this story but I trust you that Lily and James will have a better end to their day than the parts add up to at this point. Thank you as always for writing a story that is sooo enjoyable to read!

Author's Response: I know, right? It just kept piling on, didn't it? Poor guy. ;) Yes, I think things will end up better for James and Lily eventually. You know I love them too much! Thank you so much for the review, it made me smile! I'm glad you are enjoying the story and do hope you enjoy the last chapter! Thanks again!! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: iwishicouldwriteDate: 03/05/11 20:14 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

ahh what a terrible cliffhanger! i love this story update soon!

Author's Response: Oh, cliffhangers could be much worse than this! I'm glad you like it, thank you for the reviews! I will be hopefully be posting the final chapter this week and hope you like how it ends. Thanks so much for reading! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: lily_death_flowerDate: 03/05/11 9:59 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

hmmmm...interesting....update soon :)

Author's Response: Good interesting, I hope? Thanks for the review! I've just finished the last chapter so it won't be too long! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: Equinox ChickDate: 03/05/11 7:57 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

OOOOH, I love the ending. Wow, I had no idea you were going to include it in that story, and the way he discovered the RoR - fantastic.

I really enjoyed this chapter. It was sad seeing Remus' predicament through James' eyes and then Lily working it all out. You've conjured such a great story here. I know it was supposed to be light-hearted but it's become a wonderful read. *sigh*. Can't wait for the next chapter ~Carole~

Author's Response: Ha, you mean all my RoR questions didn't tip you off to that one? ;) Thanks so much for helping me out with the Shrieking Shack, I hope my solution works well enough. I still think it's pretty light-hearted. It's not dark, but I don't think I can write these two without giving it a bit of depth when it comes to all the other things going on in their lives that were fairly serious at the time, ie. Remus and his predicament. It just sort of made it's way into the story that way, since he HAD to take her through the shack. I'm glad you are enjoying it and hope the last chapter makes you smile. Thanks again for your help and the lovely review! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: RobintheGryffindorDate: 03/05/11 7:16 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

Love this! Can't wait for the next update!

Author's Response: Thanks! I just finished it yesterday so I'll be posting it soon so I can move on to something new. I'm glad you are enjoying it and hope you like the end! Thanks again!~Gina :)

Reviewer: StarsApartloverDate: 03/05/11 7:09 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

Can't wait for the next chapter! As usual you have amazed mewith another great chapter!

Author's Response: I'm glad you are still enjoying the story. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the last chapter! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: goldensunshineDate: 03/04/11 20:51 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

Thank you so much for another cliff-hanger ending...I'm only being slightly sarcastic. I really did like how James never really did tell a lie but let Lily piece it together. Also the line about Lily's anger radiating like heat but not keeping James warm was laughably funny.Thanks for another great chapter!

Author's Response: Aw, it's not a nail-biting cliff-hanger, though. ;) I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter and the other things it explored. I really appreciate the review, your comment about the cliffhanger made me laugh. I hope you enjoy the rest - thanks again! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: chattyswimmerDate: 03/04/11 19:28 Chapter: Chapter Six - The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

hmm...the Room of Requirement?? did I guess right?!ooh, I love this story!!

Author's Response: Thanks, I'm so glad you are enjoying it! Um, you're probably right but I cannot confirm or deny it until the last chapter, lol. I hope you enjoy the end. Thanks so much for the review! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: WeasleyMomDate: 03/04/11 18:45 Chapter: Chapter One - How To Not Start The Day

Still loving this, Gina. :) It's such a fun ride, and I'm glad you decided to go with the lighter vibe this time. I love how James has had enough and is ready to just give it up for the night. That seems like the right way to go for him, after all... it's been a LOT of disappointment. And of course, as in life, that's just about when the girl begins to see how irresistible he is. Hehe. I can't wait for chapter seven, except I suppose I have no choice.

I will be sad when this one is over.

Author's Response: Thank you so much, Lori! Poor James, yes, he's quite tired of it all. I've only got one more thing planned for him, though. ;) I love your point about how that's when the girl comes around, lol. I'm so glad you came by to read more. I've finished the last chapter so it won't be long...and then I have something new ready to go. Oh, and that bloody R/H that got stuck four chapters in. >.< I hope you like the end, thanks so much for the review! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: Equinox ChickDate: 02/27/11 8:07 Chapter: Chapter Five - A Boy, A Girl, A Bar, and A Blizzard

Yay, great chapter. I love the tunnel hidden by the mirror. that was a brilliant piece of thinking and sounded very JK-like. I'm starting to feel very sorry for James but am not surprised that Lily's getting annoyed with having to bail him out all of the time. He gets himself into too many scrapes and this time CANNOT blame my two beloveds.

This is rapidly turning into my go to fic when I need a pick me up. Thank you ~Carole~

Author's Response: Thanks, Carole! I'm glad you liked the mirror bit. I can occasionally come up with something original, lol. I really am beating up on James, but I took your suggestions for the next part so it will start to lighten up a bit. Well, at least in terms of everything going wrong. I swear I think I have a psychosis about it or something. I'm glad it picks up you. You should try the author I recced on my LJ as well, she's wonderful! I hope you like the way the next part goes, thanks again for your help! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: hogwartsbookwormDate: 02/26/11 20:05 Chapter: Chapter Five - A Boy, A Girl, A Bar, and A Blizzard

Man, Gina, you convert me to James/Lily more with every chapter!

This chapter was great. It was cool seeing the mirror passage. I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned in any other Marauder era story, which is a shame. It is an interesting area for Marauder era fic writers to explore.

I really enjoyed the scene in the Hog's Head. I have a crazy addiction to 'hero comes to the rescue' moments. Even when the hero fails and the damsel in distress is forced to do everything. ;) It's the effort that I find appealing. I've never really liked James (aka, I rather thought him a bully) but this story makes him much more likeable and Lily's eventual attraction more understandable.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know how much I'm liking this story. I will definitely return for the remaining chapters!

Author's Response: Yay, another conversion! Anyone who is not an avid J/L shipper thinks it's nothing but cliche, which it is, but that doesn't mean it can't still be fun or even meaningful and emotional. I'm so glad you are enjoying it. I did a lot of research for that mirror door so I'm so glad it jumped out at you. And I know what you mean about the hero-rescued-by-the-girl moments, lol. Really, it's probably been done onscreen a hundred times, but I could just totally picture that happening to James and Lily and had to go with it. Thanks so much for the lovely review! I hope you enjoy the rest~ ~Gina :)

Reviewer: lily_death_flowerDate: 02/26/11 18:32 Chapter: Chapter Five - A Boy, A Girl, A Bar, and A Blizzard

great chapter...i loved the bar fight...and how each chapter you have something else going wrong for poor james...update soon :)

Author's Response: Thank you! I'm glad you liked this one, but the next one will hopefully lighten up on James a bit. Well, maybe. At least he won't get embarassed, attacked, or punched, lol. Thanks so much for the review, I hope you enjoy the next part! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: RobintheGryffindorDate: 02/26/11 17:36 Chapter: Chapter Five - A Boy, A Girl, A Bar, and A Blizzard

I loved it! Awesome job! Please update soon :)

Author's Response: Thanks! I'm working on the next part even as I type this, lol. I hope you enjoy the rest - thanks for the review! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: goldensunshineDate: 02/26/11 11:38 Chapter: Chapter Five - A Boy, A Girl, A Bar, and A Blizzard

I really liked the scene at Hogs Head. Can't wait for the next chapter!

Author's Response: Hee hee, I'm glad you liked it. I had a few doubts, but it was so clear to me I had to go for it. Thanks so much for the review, I hope you enjoy the rest! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: MerrryDDate: 02/26/11 3:37 Chapter: Chapter Four - Back in the Hospital Wing Again

It’s a bit embarrassing, really, how long I’ve meaning to leave you a review. A couple of weeks (or more like well over a month) ago, I couldn’t sleep and ended up on the computer in the mood for some good James/Lily. I read one of your stories and one thing led to another and I ended up spending the night reading most (I won’t be so presumptuous as to say all) of your James/Lily stories. Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to go back and review at least one of them. So, here I am!

I want to say something about the first chapter, actually, before I really get into this one. I really love the tone and feel of the first chapter. It’s very storyteller-like and you really create this feeling of anticipation and build up all these emotions. It’s quite exciting. :)

And something about chapter three (I just read them all straight through): I really like how in Arthimancy pretty much everyone except for Anastasia had accepted that he would end up with Lily—the debatable part was how long he would live. It made me giggle.

And now on to chapter four!

I love your characterization of James and Lily. I guess that doesn’t particularly pertain to chapter four or even to this story, but it’s really good. I like how James is always playful and confident (but not arrogant), yet serious in a normal, mature, seventeen-year-old way. I’ve read a lot of James/Lily fics and in some of them the ~change that James ‘undergoes’ seems a bit dramatic and unrealistic. Your James seems very real and natural and is always a pleasure to read.

And Lily! Lily isn’t that annoying Perfect Student and Perfect Prefect and Perfect Person, she’s actually someone that James could fall in love with. She’s mischievous and witty and fun. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but she’s very real. I guess I could say that your James and Lily read like actual people, not like characters that someone is trying to force certain qualities on. Maybe an even better way to say it is that your James and Lily read like they are entirely your own characters that you know inside out, backwards and forwards. In fanfiction, it often reads like someone else’s characters that you know a little bit about and trying to make sure are recognizable and in doing so, forget to create a nice, well-rounded character. Does that make sense?

I think the relationship you’ve built between James and his friends is really interesting. The way James knows that they would try to sabotage anything he planned but he’s really not mad at them, just slightly irritated—it’s almost like brothers. I like the dimension it adds to both James’s character and the story, especially the way you never come straight out and say anything about it more it’s just something the reader feels. And, of course, it’s one more thing in the way. You do like to make it as difficult as possible for them to get together, don’t you? :)

We turned a corner and walked straight into Remus and Elizabeth.

"Hi!" said Elizabeth brightly. "Did you like your daisies?"

Lily burst out laughing; I groaned and turned down another corridor.

That exchange actually made me laugh out loud. This story, in general, is really lighthearted and fun. It’s wonderfully refreshing to read. It’s one of those stories that actually brightens my mood and has me sitting here just grinning with a general kind of amusement.

The ending of this chapter is sweet and hopeful. It’s that odd sort of thing that satisfies the reader yet still leaves them in high anticipation of the next chapter.

This was really fun to read and I am definitely looking forward to the next chapter. :)

--Mere

Author's Response: Mere, thank you SO MUCH. What a lovely, amazing review. What's more embarrassing is how long I've taken to respond just because there was so much here. I've read this so many times because it always makes me smile. It' s just so nice to know someone things you've done something right. I really appreciate it. :)
You touched on so many things. I'm so glad the first chapter set things up for you. I was sure it was too much backstory, since I based this on another fic I wrote! And I'm really glad you enjoyed the Arithmancy bit as well, because that surprised me. I hadn't anticipated something a bit more bittersweet like that popping up in this story. But the comment you made about James and Lily being like my own character that I know inside and out really made me squee the most. Because they are my OTP and I have been writing them for months now. If you've read some of my others, you know it's almost obsessive,lol. I love exploring different possibilities in the pairing, and in many, many ways, I do feel like I know them really well. So knowing that's come across to at least one person is thrilling.
I've posted some more and just finished the last chapter yesterday so it will be interesting to see what people think once it's done. It's mostly lighthearted, but I do like to add a bit of depth and here and there. I do hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for the amazing review! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: goldensunshineDate: 02/24/11 22:44 Chapter: Chapter Four - Back in the Hospital Wing Again

it's great! I can't wait till the next chapter.

Author's Response: Thanks! I just posted it so I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading and reviewing! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: StarsApartloverDate: 02/24/11 21:24 Chapter: Chapter One - How To Not Start The Day

Must I say it again and again? As usual you are a Wonderful author and I am truly stunned of how many great authors are out there. You have pure talent!

Author's Response: Wow, thank you so much! I don't know about talent, but I do have fun. I'm glad you enjoyed this story and have found so many other good ones out there. I really appreciate the review and hope you like the next part! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: Hopes MomDate: 02/24/11 5:39 Chapter: Chapter Four - Back in the Hospital Wing Again

I loved it but am beginning to feel sorry for James - the day has been a bit of a bummer for him! Hopefully they will get their happy ending soon? Thank you for an great chapter.

Author's Response: Er...um...sure. Happy ending soon. ;) I have to tell you, though, if you are feeling sorry for him, you might not like the next chapter. ;) But the day is almost over, just a bit more to go. I'm glad you liked it, though! Thanks again for leaving such nice little notes!! ~Gina :)

Reviewer: nevillesgirl28Date: 02/22/11 22:08 Chapter: Chapter Four - Back in the Hospital Wing Again